Mike Guerra

Fermin Guerra Romero

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 162 lb.

• Debut September 19, 1937
• Final Game September 23, 1951
• Born October 11, 1912 in Havana, Cuba
• Died October 9, 1992 in Miami Beach, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Catcher Mike Guerra was one of the many Cuban-born players signed by Washington Senators scout Joe Cambria and was first up with the Senators in 1937, playing in one game. When he returned seven years later in 1944, he hit .281 in 75 games, in 1945 he hit .210 in 56 games and in 1946 he was at .253 in 45 outings, before being sold to the Philadelphia Athletics on December 5, 1946.

Guerra, who swung a decent if not very powerful bat, hit .282 for the Athletics in 1950. He began the 1951 season with the Boston Red Sox, appeared in 10 games, and concluded his nine years in the major leagues when the Red Sox traded him to the Senators for Len Okrie and $25,000. He was the Sens' most-used catcher in 1951, when he hit .201 in 72 games in his last major league stint. Mike finished his big league tour appearing in 565 games with 1,581 at bats and 382 base hits for a lifetime .242 batting average and a .975 fielding percentage at the catcher position.

Guerra also spent ten seasons in the minor leagues that stretched out from 1936 to 1955. He was in just about every class available. He played with the class D Salisbury Indians of the Eastern Shore League in 1937 where he hit .291 with 14 home runs and was chosen for the All-Star team and also helped his team to an unbelievable comeback to win the pennant after having 21 wins reversed on June 19th, due to violations of the veteran player limit. His highest playing classification in the minors came with the AAA Havana Sugar Kings of the International League in 1954, where he hit .261 in 67 games.

Mike appeared in 794 minor league contests, had a lifetime minor league batting average of .275 with 34 home runs and fielded the catching position at a .976 percentage.

Taking all things into consideration Mike's best season would appear to be in 1942 with the class A1 Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern Association when he appeared in 116 games, went to bat 386 times and picked up 119 base hits for a .308 average. He also fielded the catching slot at a .971 percentage.

In 1952 Mike managed his hometown Havana Cubans team in the Florida International League and later scouted for the Detroit Tigers. He managed the Occidentales to the first Cuban Serie Nacional title in 1962. Guerra died October 9, 1992, in Miami Beach, FL, two days before his 80th birthday.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s
Baseball-Reference.com:page

Related Sites

• Mike Guerra at the SABR Bio Project